There is plenty of bad blood currently pulsating through the Padres-Dodgers NLDS series.
However, the Los Angeles team isn't the only one drawing the ire of San Diego — so is Ken Rosenthal.
Rosenthal is one of the most respected reporters in baseball. The 62-year-old has been around the game for over two decades, serving as Fox's sideline reporter since 2005, working with MLB Network as an in-studio reporter and writing for The Athletic.
With Fox holding the rights to the Padres-Dodgers series, Rosenthal has been working the sidelines, getting in-game interviews with both teams throughout the course of the games. However, during Game 3, there was a noticeable lack of content from Rosenthal on the Padres side. That's due to San Diego boycotting interviews with the Fox sideline reporter after a controversial column was published by Rosenthal in The Athletic.
Rosenthal was incredibly critical of Padres stars Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., as well as other members of the team following the antics that took place in Game 2.
What did Rosenthal say about the Padres? The Sporting News explains the beef between San Diego and the Fox reporter.
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Padres-Ken Rosenthal beef, explained
There has been plenty of tension during the Dodgers-Padres NLDS series. It started in Game 1 when the contest was delayed due to a fan throwing a baseball at San Diego outfielder Jurickson Profar. Eventually, Los Angeles emerged victorious, 7-5.
The antics continued in Game 2, as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts accused Machado of being "disrespectful" after the Padres third baseman threw a baseball toward the Dodgers dugout.
The Padres evened the series with a Game 2 win, propelled by an outstanding three-RBI performance by Tatis Jr. After the game, the Los Angeles skipper called out Machado, shifting the focus from the loss to the perceived game within the game.
That's when Rosenthal decided to put his thoughts to paper and write a column for The Athletic, bashing Machado, Tatis Jr. and the Padres for a myriad of issues.
The focus of Rosenthal's piece was on the Machado toss at the Dodgers dugout. It came after Dodger starter Jack Flaherty plunked Tatis Jr., who homered off him earlier in the game. Machado felt it was intentional and fired a literal response at Los Angeles.
Here is video of Manny Machado throwing the ball toward the #Dodgers dugout. The ball had just been used by Yu Darvish to warm up. Kyle Higashioka’s throw to second bounced in the dirt, so Darvish received a new ball to begin the inning. #Padres pic.twitter.com/Wkf1L4Pff5
— Annie Heilbrunn (@annieheilbrunn) October 8, 2024
MORE: Explaining Shohei Ohtani's rare display of anger during Dodgers' Game 4 win
Rosenthal referred to Machoda's throw towards the Dodgers dugout as the "Sinister Sling," bashing the third baseman and seemingly siding with the Los Angeles dugout on the matter. By the evidence in the video, it's hard to see anything "sinister" being the attempt.
The reporter didn't stop there, though. Rosenthal then called out Tatis Jr. and Profar.
"Machado is far from the Padres’ only irritant," Rosenthal wrote. "Fernando Tatis Jr. is a smiling, dancing peacock. Jurickson Profar is the kid who pulls the fire alarm at school and then asks, 'Who, me?'"
Baseball teams may claim that they don't listen to the outside noise, whether that be through TV shows, social media postings or written columns, but it's clear Rosenthal's words got back to the clubhouse. As a result, the Padres boycotted in-game interviews with Rosenthal during Game 3 of the series, according to the San Diego Tribune-Union.
Tatis Jr. had a response for Rosenthal on his own, putting emojis of a peacock and a dancing man on his Instagram stories following the Game 3 win.
The ban on Rosenthal interviews was put in place for one game only, and in Game 4, Rosenthal was welcomed back into the dugout. The Dodgers evened the series in Game 4, which sets up for a dramatic Game 5 contest Friday night.
Rosenthal will not be in the Padres dugout for Game 5 — but not necessarily because of the beef between the reporter and the San Diego roster.
Because the Phillies-Mets series ended in Game 4, Fox brought Tom Verducci as an extra reporter for the winner-take-all game in Los Angeles, stationing Verducci with the Padres and Rosenthal with the Dodgers. Of course, social media speculation points out the convenience of the move amid the Rosenthal drama.
If the tension of a Game 5 isn't enough to draw the attention of fans, the boiling blood that could spill over between Los Angeles and San Diego should.
